Parallel Ripples
by evil vixen sue
Summary: One faulty Time Seal. Two traumatized Uchiha brothers from another dimension. Add in an unrepentant Avenger. Why do Kakashi take it upon himself to balance out this unsolvable equation? ::Time Travel Fic::Narutoverse-RTN Crossover::
1. Prologue

**Title:** Parallel Ripples

**Rating:** PG13-ish for the time being. May increase in later chapters.

**Spoilers:** AU, Future-fic, Naruto-verse/Road to Ninja (RTN) Crossover

**Disclaimer:** None of the recognizable characters are mine, except for the OCs. Oh, woe is me.

**Summary:** _When their home was attacked, two dark haired boys were sent back in time by their father to find out that no one was acting the way they were supposed to. Exhibit A: Why is their father a suicidal psychopathic criminal instead of the carefree easygoing man who flirts with every women he comes across? Was the Time Seal compromised or was it something else?_

******A/N:** This prologue chapter is just me testing the water, to see if anyone (other than me) wants to read something like this.

Chapter 1 is mostly done, apart from minor editing so it should be up soon.

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_**Parallel Ripples: Prologue  
**_

* * *

He woke up with a strangled gasp.

Blazing sharingan stared into blue summer sky before one of his hand tightened on the hilt of his bloody katana while the other instinctively fisted around the fabric of his younger brother's shirt, anchoring the unconscious boy to him. He moved swiftly into a crouch; senses reeling, muscles tightening as he held himself rigid, his ears still ringing with loud screams and the screeching of metal against metal. He shuddered, the smell of blood, _his _blood, was ripe in the air.

He blinked, still struggling to breath, before blinking again and then again when he realized that the fight was just in his head and that it was all behind him. That only meant one thing, his father had done it. The seal held. The jutsu worked. They're _here._ Whenever here was.

After making sure that there was no unidentified chakra in the vicinity, he stood, somewhat wobbly. He clenched his jaw at the state of his unsteady feet and after making sure his brother was still breathing, he launched himself onto one of the trees, scaling the side of the trunk as quickly as he could. The boy crouched on the tip of the swaying tree, his depleted chakra working hard to keep his balance as he studied his surroundings.

His heart thumped loudly in his ears when he spotted the Hokage Tower standing tall in the midst of a bustling and thriving village. His last memory of that place was of a smoldering pile of rubble. Apparently, his father really does know what he was doing.

So, the village was intact, untouched. There was no sign of any battle as the villagers were hurrying to and from their destinations without worry. The fact that there were only five heads carved into the mountain instead of the familiar seven cemented the fact that this was not the Konoha that he knew.

He suppressed a shiver at the result of his father's action. _Tou-san, what did you do? What are you going to make _me _do? _The boy jumped from his perch and landed a couple of feet from where his brother lay. Still clutching the katana, he quickly pulled the young boy to him. After a quick search for any unseen injuries, (he was just out cold with a couple of superficial wounds) he sheathed his sword and hoisted the boy up before standing unsteadily. The young boy's head lolled on his brother's shoulder, his black hair plastered to his skull with sweat, his chubby arms swinging slowly with the boy's stiff stride.

After a few steps, the boy grimaced and kept his right elbow pressed against his throbbing ribs. The added pressure dimmed the pain somewhat. From experience, he knew that he had most likely cracked or maybe even broken one or a couple of them. For some reason, the nins he had been fighting with seemed to have a fondness to turn his ribs into a moving target practice. With a grunt, he hitched the younger boy higher, clamping his arm around the boy's thigh. He took a couple of short breaths before blinking, sharingan deactivated as pain finally started to blaze through his nervous system. He stood silently for a few seconds, grimacing while he willed his heart rate to slow down, his agile mind quickly coming to a decision.

They had talked about the jutsu, his father and him, when his father was in the early stages of fiddling with the seal, but what to do _after _the jutsu was never discussed. They both had thought that it was a long _long _shot and the probability of that ever happening was close to miniscule and now that he was here, he had no idea what to do. For a heartbeat, he missed mother's warm presence, his father's unfaltering strength. Swallowing the rush of homesickness with a grunt, Uchiha Hajime made his way to the Hokage's Tower.

As anyone from Konoha would attest to, when you're in trouble, alert the Hokage.

And Kami-knows, how much trouble he was in now.

* * *

_To be continued..._

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**A/N: **Self-betaed so I'll probably (definitely) missed a lot of stuff. Anyone who's interested to help me out, please let me know. I'll love you forever!


	2. The New Konoha

**Chapter 1  
**

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Tsunade was having the worst day ever. Considering she had been in a coma for months after the war, and _that_ had been a nap in a park compared to this. She would have thought that the idea of a post-war time should not be more chaotic than the war itself. She sighed, and took another sip from her cup as the Council continued with their discussion.

"Hokage-sama. I really think that it's impertinent that…"

The rest of his sentence was drown out over the crash of the door. All eyes skittered to the doorway where a boy was gripping the door in his white knuckle as two masked ANBU held his other arm and shoulder. "My apologies, Hokage-sama." The one in badger's mask spoke out, hands already moving in a seal to shunshin the intruder off.

"No!" The boy ground out, his voice was stiff and unyielding over that one syllable. He moved and everyone in the room noticed that he had an unconscious boy in his arms. And wearing what looked to be half of his body's blood on him. The boy shifted and it looked like he was shrugging off the ANBU's hold on him. Which would be impossible for someone his age, anyone actually but he took two steps and suddenly darted to the left, out of reach of Badger's reach. It was an illogical idea that he was capable of reading the ANBU's movement and simply countering it with an opposite move. "Hokage-sama, please. I need you to listen to me."

Tsunade didn't move from her seat, her eyes narrowed as she took in the situation. A boy of 11, maybe 12 had just weaseled out of her ANBU's grasp while clutching a passed out toddler, no less. There was a flash of black eyes, almost hidden under a shock of unruly dark hair. He was clutching a younger boy of 4 or 5 years old and he was leaving behind a trail of blood in his wake. Under the smears of blood, the pale face with the dark hair seemed eerily familiar.

"Wait," she nodded to the two ANBUs, more of trying to keep the injured boy still rather than anything else and instantly the masked guards stood to attention. "Who are you, kid?"

Her eyes were on him and she saw how his jaw clenched as he straightened himself up, standing tall and stiff. The arm that was around the young boy shifted upwards to reposition the young boy and Tsunade frowned at the cock of his head, the fire in his eyes. How many times had she seen the Uchiha kid looked at her like that after Naruto hauled his ass back to Konoha? There was no resentment, no unfinished revenge brimming in _those _black eyes but they could be an exact copy. "Who are you?" She asked quickly, brows knitted together.

"You _know_ who I am, Hokage-sama." The boy didn't move a muscle. "I… no, _we _both need your help."

"I know who you are? What I know is that you can't be an Uchiha, kid."

"Uchiha?" The others picked up on the last name and the smothered gasp move across the room like it was a living being. "But that's impossible. There's only one Uchiha left and he's currently in our prison awaiting judgment." The oldest Council member protested stiffly.

"But he sure does have the Uchiha look." Another member remarked quietly and silence hovered over the room. A beat bled into another before the first Council member sputtered with indignation.

"How preposterous! Why, I…"

"Hold on," The Hokage held out her hand upwards and stared unblinkingly at the boy but directed her words at the rest. "Leave us."

"But Hokage-sama!" The refusal was instantaneous.

"Leave us. However good he is at evading the ANBU, he's still a boy. I thank all of you for your thoughts of my safety." Tsunade added drily.

Reluctantly, they walked out of her office in a sullen file. Tsunade waited for a few seconds after her door clicked shut before she turned her gaze on the boy. He was still, staring at her with that dark Uchiha eyes, his body's posture off a seasoned shinobi, ready for battle even though he's wearing practically half of his own blood. Tsunade silently mused what had happen to make this young boy a weathered warrior so young.

"How are you related to the last Uchiha?"

"Do we have to be related to him personally? So you have dark eyes and suddenly you're an Uchiha?"

Tsunade huffed, "You're going with that? Really? You thought I would miss how you're the exact copy of the Uchiha?"

"Maybe the eyes, yes," the infuriating boy shrugged. "But I've been told I take after my mother."

The Hokage took a minute to sip slowly from her quickly emptying cup, studying the bloody boys with hard eyes. "You claimed to be an Uchiha. Do you know how impossible that is?"

"I didn't claim anything. You jumped to the conclusion yourself, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage leaned back in her chair, her eyes glinting in suppressed amusement. "An Uchiha who's not as dry as the Suna sands. How did that happen?"

"Forgive me Hokage-sama but why are you so hell-bent on saying that I'm an Uchiha?"

"And why are you so hell-bent on denying something we both know is the truth? However impossible that is."

The young Uchiha sighed, as if resigning to the fact that now was the time to tell her. He already knew it was unavoidable but that doesn't mean he didn't dread actually doing it. "It's not impossible. My father created a jutsu that send us from our time to the past. We're from the future, Hokage-sama."

"The future." Her expression didn't waver. "How are you related to Uchiha Sasuke?"

The boy swallowed and his grip on the unconscious younger boy tightened. "He was our father."

The blond brow quirked upwards. "Was?"

"He used his last burst of chakra to complete the seal that send us here."

"You and your… brother?"

"Hai," the boy nodded morosely. The stony black eyes shimmered and Tsunade frowned at the glimmer of tears in the boy's eyes. The Uchihas were a proud clan and none of them would be caught crying in front of someone else. The idea that a child of the Avenger Uchiha tearing up in any situation was something that was impossible to comprehend. As if sensing the direction of her thoughts, the boy stiffened and stood even straighter than before, the black eyes hard.

"Why did he send you here? Sasuke."

"I don't know."

She sighed, the thought that Uchiha Sasuke of all people would make her life a little easier by telling her what he wanted was laughable. Of course he would sent his son off to her and expected her to do whatever to help. "Tell me from the beginning."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." The boy nodded and opened his mouth to comply.

Tsunade smirked at the rare sight of an Uchiha following order. Their mother must be something, to raise such obedient Uchihas. However, she stopped him before he could start. "Sit down first, boy. You look like you're about to topple over."

"I'm fine," the dark eyes narrowed in a glare and Tsunade's laugh flitted out of amused lips.

"Now, this is more familiar." The drops of blood on her floor caught her attention and she stood before making her way to the two boys. She gestured to the desk behind her, "Put your brother down there. You can start while I look him over first then I'll see what I can do for you."

"I'm fine," the boy grounded out again, suddenly irritable. "It's just a scratch. I've had worse. Just focus on Shin, I'm sure he needs you more."

The Hokage didn't say anything but her brown eyes were fixed on him, one brow quirked upwards as if she was waiting. The unblinking stare forcibly reminded him of his mother's gaze and he crumbled. He laid the still unconscious boy on the Hokage's desk, stripping out of his bloody Chuunin's vest to slide it under the boy's head.

Tsunade was quiet as she watched the boy gingerly straightened the young boy's limb, his inky hair a contrast to his pale face. She moved closer and picked up his limp hand, fingers quickly finding his pulse. It felt slow but steady as it thrummed against the pads of her fingertips. Her hand quickly moved over his small body, checking for any wounds. "What's your name, kid?"

"Hajime. Uchiha Hajime."

"And this one here?"

"He's Shin."

"What happened to him?"

"I don't know."

The quiet reply made her turned to him swiftly. Not because of the answer, but the tone of his voice. Guilt and pain. Regret and sorrow.

"There were so much blood," his voice trailed and the dark eyes glazed as he focused on his memory. "Everywhere. Tou-san rushed in, he had Shin and he gave him to me. I was worried because Shin was covered in blood but Tou-san said he was fine, it wasn't his. I didn't know at the time that it was Tou-san's blood. He started the jutsu and I remember someone barging into the room. Before I could do anything I woke up and we were here."

Tsunade's mind tried very hard to reconcile the idea of a man from Hajime's view –protective, paternal- to the sullen, revenge-riddled youth she was force to interact with now but failed to do so. Then the second part of his story hit her and her jaw clenched at the thought of another massacre. "The attack was directed at the Uchiha compound?"

"No, it was an attack to the village. They targeted the Hokage Tower first. I was there when it went down."

"Who did it? Who attacked us?"

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. I was not privy to that information." For the multiple times Hajime wished his father had transported _himself _back to the past. At least _he _would be able to answer the Gondaime's questions.

"Hmph. I didn't know what your father expected me to do." She grumbled under her breath. "That is just like the Uchiha to do this to me."

He didn't say anything as he watched the Hokage's hand glowed green as it moved across his brother's small body. They watched silently as the cut knitted itself back together. She lifted her head and nodded, "He'll be fine, he's just unconscious. He should come to in a bit." She turned her gaze to the older boy and her eyes narrowed. "Stand still so I can take a look."

"Hokage-sama," the boy started as her green hand stopped over his cracked ribs. He grimaced and his hand clutched the handle of the chair when he could _feel_ his bone slowly fused back together. It was excruciating but he just clenched his jaw tight and let the pain washed over him. "What year is it right now?"

Based from the carving on the mountain, he could've put his parent's age as somewhere in their teens but he needed to narrow it down.

"The Fourth Great Shinobi War ended less than a year ago," Tsunade's head cocked to one side, studying the young Uchiha intently. "Does that answer your question?"

The _Fourth _Great Shinobi War? Hajime forced his face to remain unchanged, which was not easily achieved as the Hokage was practically rearranging his bones while he was conscious but Hajime didn't want to delve into details right now. He forced air into his screaming lungs when the Hokage's chakra surged through his torn muscles and he could've sworn the chair cracked under his white fists.

Even under the barrage of pain, his mind raced when more questions demanded to be answered. The Fourth Great Shinobi War already ended last year? When he knew it was only supposed to start three years after the next Hokage took over her place.

The current Hokage's gaze didn't waver from his face. "What's wrong, Uchiha?"

Hajime decided to take a leaf out of his Jounin Sensei's book. How hard was it to act all dense and easy going, right? "Gomen, Hokage-sama. History was not my strongest subject in the Academy." He forced a sheepish grin over his shoulder but he could feel the Gondaime's relentless stare on his back. The young Uchiha wheezed when her hand moved to the large gash running down his arm.

"You've lost a lot of blood, make sure to ask for blood-replenish tablets when you're at the hospital later." The Fifth grimly told him while the skin slowly closed over the gash.

She inwardly scoffed at the idea of an Uchiha who had trouble remembering his history facts. The thing that interests her more was that he went to such poorly executed length to hide it from her. What other thing was he not telling? She frowned when she came across another long slash that run down from the top of his shoulder to his spine. "What the hell did you do with yourself, kid?"

Hajime managed a small shrug even as his jaw was clenched tight. Half an hour later, Tsunade took a step back, huffing as she looked him over with her eagle eyes. "You're fine now. Try not to get sliced up again so soon."

"I'll do that, Hokage-sama."

"Kaa… kaa-chan." A soft voice mumbled out and Hajime quickly darted to his brother's side.

"Shin."

The young boy's eyes fluttered before they opened slowly. He blinked sluggishly and when he saw his older brother hovering over him, he struggled to sit. "Nii-chan."

"Calm down, Shin," the older boy grabbed his brother's arm and helped him to sit. "You just wake up, nice and easy."

"Haji-nii… what?" he groaned and shook his head, his eyes screwed shut when the colours started to bleed and merged together in his vision.

"Deep breath, Shin. Put your head down."

He didn't try to nod because he was trying to keep his head very _very_ still. Shin didn't want to start throwing up his lunch all over his brother, but his head hurts badly and he whimpered. "Kaa-chan."

"You're fine, Shin," his brother murmured, softly running his hand over the young boy's shaking back. "It's gonna be okay."

After a few more minutes the younger boy lifted his head gingerly, as if testing its reaction before facing his brother, his chubby fingers streaking sweat, blood and tears across his face. "Nii-chan, what… where's kaa-chan, tou-chan… where's everyone?"

"I don't know, Shin. Do you remember otou-san sending us here?"

"No," the boy shook his messy head, "I remember him coming to find me but then I… I don't remember. What happened, nii-chan?"

"We were attacked."

The young boy nodded once, his small teeth worrying over pale lips. "I remember that," the boy mumbled, his fingers started to fidget.

"Otou-san's jutsu sent us here."

"Just us? Tou-chan and kaa-chan are coming, right nii-chan?"

"I don't know, Shin." His brother sighed and the sad look in his eyes started to make Shin very afraid. "I'm sorry."

The older boy put his hand on the boy's shoulder and the younger boy became still. "It was real? Kaa-chan's… everyone is really…" His dark eyes widened at the thought and Tsunade didn't think it was possible for him to be even paler.

"I'm not certain but I believe so."

The boy's lips trembled but his brother quickly added, "But before he sent us here, tou-san gave us a mission." He squashed the flicker of guilt that flared up at the lie. His brother needed some kind of motivation to keep moving forward in this different time and Hajime was going to give it to him.

"A mission?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you about it later, okay?"

"Okay, Haji-nii." The young boy nodded, his arm wiping his eyes free from any moisture.

"Shin," the older boy gestured to the silent woman behind him. "This is the Gondaime-sama."

"Gon… gondaime-sama?" The boy blinked twice and then his eyes widened to a titanic proportion. "Tou-chan used _that _jutsu? But I thought…" He blinked again and shook his head, "My apologies, Gondaime-sama. It's just kaa-chan always…"

"Shin."

"Oh," he turned to his brother with a guilty glance at the silent reprimand before maneuvering his limbs to climb down from the Hokage's table. He stood in front of her and gave a respectful bow. "Gondaime-sama. Please take care of me and my brother while we're here."

Beside him, the older boy gave an equally respectful bow. "Please."

Tsunade's lips quirked at the sight in front of her. "Are you sure both of you are the Uchiha's sons? He really _is _your father?"

"Yes, Uchiha Sasuke is our tou-chan," the young boy nodded in agreement but his brow crinkled in confusion at the question.

"Hmph," her brown eyes as she scrutinized the two boys. "I suggest you keep this up. No one will believe you're even _remotely_ related to the Uchiha if you keep behaving like this."

"Hokage-sama, is it possible to hide our identity?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Otou-san always talked about how time is like a stream. One ripple can turn into a wave and I'm trying to minimize any ripples from our time here."

"Very well," the Hokage nodded and walked around them to head behind her desk, sitting down with a groan. "I didn't even drink that much last night but I already have a killer headache." She took a slow sip from her cup as she massaged her temple. "So, this is what we'll do. I can't pass you off as regular boys, you look too much like your father." Tsunade closed her eyes and her fingers continued to rub her throbbing head.

Who was she kidding? The older boy was an almost replica of the Uchiha at twelve but when you took the time to really scrutinize the boy, there were differences that weren't visible on first glance. The younger boy's face was still round and soft but there were no denying the Uchiha blood running in his veins. "You're the son of a distant cousin. Your parents were away on a mission and not in the village during the massacre and after they're gone, you decided to come back to us. I don't know if anyone will actually buy it but we'll go with that at the moment."

Hajime frowned at the word massacre, that was a weird choice of event but he kept his face still and nodded. "Very well, Hokage-sama."

"I still can't get over how respectful the Uchiha's sons are," she mumbled into her cup, her eyes fixed on the two boys across the table. "You can't take that after your father. Anyway, place to stay," she raised her voice and put down her cup, "Shizune!"

The door opened and said woman appeared in the doorway. "Get me Kakashi. Right now."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama. Can I just remind you that the Council are still waiting for you?"

"Ah… Let them wait. It won't hurt them one bit to cool down but make sure Kakashi gets here. ASAP."

"Of course, Tsunade-sama."

With that she disappeared and Tsunade continued to stare broodingly into her cup. "Both of you, sit down first. I don't know how long it'll take for Shizune to find Kakashi or how long it'll take for him to come here."

The older boy's lips quirked upwards, "He _is_ known for that."

They both dropped into the empty chairs. "Nii-chan, the Hokage's office looks so different," the young boy whispered to his brother, his wide eyes taking in the surroundings.

"You've been here before?"

"Hai," the young boy nodded vigorously but didn't offer anything else. Beside him, his brother didn't add any input either.

"How's the village in your time?"

"You know we can't talk about that, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade studied the boy sitting so stiff and straight in front of her. Black hair falling into inky dark eyes, he was a copy of his father at that age. However, they were none of that fiery revenge flaming the black eyes. Those eyes however were filled with resigned determination and she could also see the pain flickering in the background. "Are you certain your father didn't give you any instruction before he sent you here?"

The younger boy turned to his brother, his face scrunched as he waited for the answer.

"There was no time," he shook his head. He suspected the only reason his father's jutsu even worked in the first place was because he had exhausted all of his chakra into it. A life to save two.

"The enemy-nin was so fast. Even faster than kaa-chan." Shin's quiet voice pulled him back from the future. "Kaa-chan only had time to hide me before they burst in. She couldn't find the others." He sniffed and wiped his watery eyes with the back of his hand.

"You did your best, Shin-chan," his brother murmured and the boy nodded, somewhat hesitant. "This is not your fault. At least we're together. I'm sure kaa-san and tou-san are happy about that."

"I miss them," he mumbled, his head lowered, his fingers fidgeting in his lap. "Kaa-chan and tou-chan. Everyone. Even Ryuta-nii."

His brother's lips quirked slightly at the admission. "Even Ryuta?"

"Hai," the young boy agreed morosely.

Hajime sighed and his stiff posture cracked slightly. He had a burning hole in his chest every time he thought about his family. His father's sacrifice to keep them alive. His mother's fury as she fought for them. His twin's scream when she took a blade aimed for their younger brother. His sibling's blood.

And there was so much blood. Everywhere.

He scrubbed his face tiredly, hand shaking. Hajime blinked when a small hand slipped into his fisted fingers.

"It's not your fault, nii-chan. At least we're here together."

Something in him moved, to hear the words he had spoken mere minutes ago was now directed at him. "Hai, Shin-chan." He forced his jaw to unclench themselves and nodded at the small boy.

"You requested for me, Hokage-sama?"

A voice suddenly spoke behind them and Hajime was ashamed to say he never heard the person enter the room.

"Ah… Kakashi. That was quick of you." Tsunade heaved a huge sigh. She really, really did have a huge headache. Now she needed two traumatic boys settled in somewhere before she could reassembled her thoughts and possibly rethink her decisions. "I have a mission for you." She scrutinized the masked jounin in front of her for any reaction but there was none. Not that she was expecting any. Not in the next few minutes at least.

"Unranked. Protective detail."

"Escort?"

"No, I don't want them out of the village."

"Them?"

"Protective detail with 24 hour surveillance. Meet your new clients." The Gondaime cocked her head at the two boys.

"Excuse me?"

"To make your job easier I suggest you have them in your house."

"You basically want me to babysit a couple of kids? But why is it unranked?"

"Kakashi, meet Hajime and Shin."

The jounin's reaction was only a miniscule widening of his visible eye as he scrutinized the boys. He noted the glittering black eyes, the messy dark hairs, their stiff posture and how the young one had one death grip on the older one's shirt. Kakashi came to a rather startling and somewhat obvious conclusion with a widening of his eye. There was something familiar with them but then, they couldn't be…

"Uchiha. But how?"

"Hence the Unranked. With the former Last Uchiha not as stable as I would like him to be, I can't just let the boys alone right now."

"Can I just say I don't have any experience in baby-sitting?"

"You had a genin team. You'll be fine." The Hokage just waved his complaint off with a wave of her hand. "Plus, this will be a priceless experience for you when you decide it was time to revive your _own _clan."

"But Hokage-sama…"

"Oh come on, Hatake," Tsunade snapped. "Are you really going to waste more time arguing with me about this?" She pulled a random scroll and snapped it opened, signaling that their meeting was abruptly adjourned. "Come back later for further briefing for this mission. And Kakashi, get the boys some new clothes. I wouldn't suggest taking them anywhere in their current bloody state. Take them to a hospital first, I may have missed something. And don't forget to feed them. Now go."

She pulled the scroll closer and started to attack it rather furiously, scribbling ineligible words with harsh strokes.

Kakashi winced. "Well kids, you heard the Hokage. You're with me."

Tsunade's eyes darted upwards, in time to see the three boys filing out of her office. After she sensed that their chakra was out of reach, she tossed the mutilated scroll aside and pulled a drawer opened, staring at the sake bottles lined inside. Too bad she had such a bad headache today.

* * *

Kakashi slowed down his stride so that he was a step behind the two boys. From his position, his visible eye studied the supposed Uchihas. His brow crinkled at the idea. How is that even possible? And yet, there were no denying there are indeed Uchihas. The older boy walked in a brisk stride, the younger one's hand was fisted around the edge of his brother's shirt as he stared around with wide, awe-filled black eyes. He was almost running, his short legs working hard to keep up with his brother's much longer stride. Now and again, he will tugged at the shirt and whispered his amazed observation to his brother.

The said brother, Kakashi was amazed to see had nodded obligingly, before pointing out a few other things to his brother's excitement. Did this what Itachi and Sasuke had been when they were young children? The strong bond of sibling without the rivalry? As he continued to stare, he was forcefully reminded that this was not Itachi and Sasuke, these two had been for all purposes strangers who had the blood of the Uchihas. He blinked, shoved out of his train of thoughts when the older boy turned to him.

"Where are we heading now, Hatake-san?"

"The hospital, I should think. If the medic-nin says you're good to go, we'll get something to eat." Maybe he can get a couple of those pre-packed bentos while they're getting checked. He'll rushed them to his house, toss in the food and get back to Tsunade. He can't wait to see what the Hokage had to say without the boys around.

They started walking again and Kakashi ignored the wide-eyed stares around them. The people of Konoha had started to notice the two boys and their obvious resemblance to a certain Avenger.

"So, how old are you… uh, what's your name again?" There was a sheepish glint in his eye.

The young boy blinked owlishly up at him before he grinned. "My name is Uchiha Shin and I'm 5. Hajime-niichan just turned 12 last month. I'm gonna start the Academy soon so I can be just like my nii-chan. He's been a Chuunin for_ever_!"

"So he's your brother?"

"Hai," the boy nodded eagerly, even as he was being pulled forward by said brother's brisk walk. "And I have two more, Ryuta-niichan and Ryuu-niichan. And Hikaru-neechan is our sister." His lips pouted at the first name. "But Ryuta-nii always makes fun of me. He always said I'm a baby but I'm not! Sora is because she's not even two." His brow furrowed at the unfairness of his life.

"Shin."

His brother's tone was mild but the young boy gasped. "Oh, sorry nii-chan."

"My apologies, Hatake-san. My brother can chatter anyone ear's off." He took the boy's chubby fingers and pulled him into the hospital.

"Maa… maa… I don't mind." The jounin tried to wave it aside but the boy just smiled. The smile, Kakashi noticed, was a sort of smile someone imparts to make you feel good about yourself so as to distract and lull your opponent from trying to dig deeper. It was a hard line to balance the two and that was something Kakashi personally understood. To see that kind of diplomacy on a 12 year old was exceptional.

Kakashi crossed the need to toss them into his house at the first available chance off his to-do list. He was curious to see what else he could find from these two boys.

* * *

_Self-betaed. So all mistakes are mine.  
_


	3. The Former Last Uchiha

**Chapter 2**

* * *

The medic-nin declared them healthy, after all the Hokage herself had healed the two boys. They were sent off with warnings of rest and taking it easy for a while. Kakashi just nodded before herding the boys out. He after all, tried to spend as little time as he could at the hospital.

The older boy politely declined his offer of new clothes, saying that he had no money on him. He was sure that he could wash the blood off if Kakashi could point out the laundry. At this point the younger piped up that yes, his nii-chan was very good at that, he always did his own laundry after missions anyway, kaa-chan didn't even have to do anything.

Kakashi's brow rose at that but he just pushed the boys into a shop, reminding them that Konoha had a responsibility to feed and clothe her subjects at their time of need. Shin had streaked inside the shop while Hajime followed at a more sedate pace.

"So Hajime-kun, you came from a large family?" Kakashi fell beside the boy, matching his pace to the boy's.

"Hai, Hatake-san."

Kakashi waited if the boy had more to add but apparently Uchiha Hajime was a boy of limited words or he hoarded information like a miser with his pile of gold.

"How many siblings do you have?"

"There's six of us."

The jounin's lips quirked under his mask. Yup, hoarder it was. "That includes your parents?"

"Oh no, Hatake-san. That's just us kids."

Kakashi's grin widened. He'd been in an interrogation room where more information was gleamed and yet there were something about this boy that he found interesting. "I wasn't aware that there were any other survivors from the Uchiha clan apart from Uchiha Sasuke."

The boy stiffened, ever so slightly, if Kakashi wasn't so close he would have missed the miniscule reaction for sure. "I'm sure Hokage-sama will brief you on that later, Hatake-san. I myself have no real information to add."

"So, you're here with just your brother? Wouldn't your parents be worried?"

"I believed they were both killed, Hatake-san. That's why we were sent here."

"I see. I'm sorry for your loss, Hajime-kun. I know how it feels to lose your parents at a young age." His voice turned somber.

The boy just nodded. His hands were going through the shirts but Kakashi could see how he had pulled into himself. Kakashi remembered Sasuke during their genin years. The boy would brood constantly, letting the fire of hate grew deep in his heart as he pushed himself to be better, to be the best.

He could see that the two was quite different, how they handled what life throw at them for one. However, they were a few similarities too. These kinds of similarities can only come with shared blood so they had to be quite close. Apart from the fact that the older boy was only 6 years younger than the former Last Uchiha made it pretty impossible for any paternal relations. However…

"Kakashi-sensei!"

The Jounin repressed a twitch at the sight of the grinning blonde girl in front of him.

Damn.

Yamanaka Ino.

The muscle behind Konoha's largest gossip mill. He studied the amazed glint in her eyes as she started to notice the boy beside him. He didn't have to be a former ANBU to see what she was thinking. Kakashi thought it was a wise strategy to employ the retreat tactic for the time being. "Oh look at the time. I have to be going, Ino-chan. Gomen… gomen." He put up one apologetic hand and was ready to pull the older boy away when he heard an excited shriek on his left.

"Nii-chan… nii-chan! There's a cat on this shirt! Look… look!"

Ino's mouth fell opened as her eyes skittered from one dark eyed boy to the other. The two boys, undeterred by her increasing interest wandered off to find out if they had a black shirt with a white cat on it, since the one Shin found was green and everyone knew black goes fantastically well with white.

"Sensei," the younger boy's chatter slowed down as they moved further away and Ino started in a scarily mild tone. "Who are they?"

"Uh… Konoha's newest orphans." Kakashi felt compelled to answer but took one calculated step backwards nevertheless when her eyes started to blaze in a fire-ish fashion.

"Sensei!" The glare was undoubtedly intimidating but he had been a shinobi longer than she was alive, so... "They're... they're Uchihas! They have to be... but... how is that even possible? I mean, there could be little Uchihas around if Itachi... or... but the boys are so big! I mean... They could be his younger brothers? But that doesn't really make sense…" Ino's blue eyes widened in emphasize of her brain's struggle to put words to her thoughts. "Sensei," she suddenly started in a startled tone. "Did Sasuke know about them?"

"I'm sure that's on top of the Hokage's list of things to do today." The masked jounin shrugged as he caught wisps of discussion of pairing blue pants with black shirts.

"Seriously, Sensei. How did that even possible? I mean, the boy look so much like Sasuke that it was creepy. It's like we've gone back in time or something, training for our Chuunin Exam."

Back in time? Kakashi mulled over the idea but outwardly he gave another one of his lazy waves. "I've been with them for awhile now. I agree they do have certain resemblance," Ino snorted at that grossly misleading fact but Kakashi blithely continued, "But they are nothing alike. I have yet to catch the older boy brooding once and the younger one is too… excitable. Have you seen Sasuke ever excited, over anything, ever?"

"You do have a point, Sensei," she nodded, her blue eyes trained on the two boys. The younger one had found the perfect shorts for his shiny new shirt and he was a ball of compressed energy, practically bouncing in excitement. "I'm sure Sasuke had never thought he'd have this ever again." The kunoichi continued in a slow tone.

"What would that be?"

"Family. However distant or close these two turn out to be, they're the family he had now."

"True, Ino-chan. Maybe now he'll find a new purpose for his life."

* * *

The air around the cell was heavy, a smothering blanket that refused to budge. The lack of circulated air made the smell even worse but he had already gotten used to the foul smell after a few days. His hand drifted unconsciously over the mass of twisted scars on his chest, hovering tentatively over the shirt hiding the healed injury from view as his mind drifted.

He had successfully avoided Konoha's hunter-nin for years after his desertion for revenge but he had stupidly put himself on their radar, drunk and passed out. Granted, he had tried to drink himself into oblivion after successfully plunging his katana into his brother's chest. He had thought after avenging his clan's massacre he would be free to move ahead with his life but it seems like Power-Above didn't have the same idea.

With Itachi's last words still ringing in his ears, he had stared with horror at the pool of blood growing on his brother's chest. He had stumbled into the first place he could find, his hands still sticky from his brother's blood before proceeding to drink himself into a stupor. He didn't even moved a muscle when he felt the flare of Konoha's ANBU's chakra. He had recalled ordering another pitcher of sake even when the ANBU moved closer.

He ignored the incoming threat as he studied the smears of blood, Itachi's drying blood, which had transferred onto his white sake cup. The ANBU's hand felt heavy against his stooped shoulder and the flare of chakra signature felt familiar.

"I'd never thought _you _of all people would turn out ANBU," the words practically slurred against each other as he forced his head to scowl at the mask somewhere over his shoulder.

The room had turned deathly quiet as if someone had stripped all of the sound off. The scattered occupants were staring with wide, startled eyes. Everyone was frozen in mid action when the drunken Uchiha twisted out of the ANBU's grip and stood, surprisingly steady despite of being intoxicated.

"Sasuke."

"You're always a persistent idiot," he muttered before the combination of anguish and alcohol finally succeeded in dousing his senses and he blacked out.

In present time, the Uchiha snorted at the memory of his so-called downfall. After days of solitary confinement, save for his treacherous thoughts for company, he had lost track of time and had no idea how long he'd been here. He had spent who-knows how many days of staring unseeingly, his brother's last words still bouncing erratically in his head.

He was a mere pawn. He was used. The reason his family was slaughtered was to keep him safe.

It goes on and on in a continuous neverending loop.

Time for him was something abstract; it filtered through like sand that slipped through your fingers. Slowly, slowly it trickled away.

He had killed the last person who had cared for him, so what is left for him now? Hauled back to the village he had turned his back on years ago. After days of being drowned in his tumultuous memories, alone except for the constant screams and his brother's stuttered last words for company and the realization taht his whole life was based on lies, Sasuke knew he had no desire to continue with his wretched life. He had no family, no village, no place to call home. He had successfully killed everyone who had any desire to help him, so what did that left him?

His fingers started to shake with the sudden burst of chakra. He stared at the compressed ball of energy with an impassive gaze, a shrill chirping shattering the silence of the cell. He had given the swarm of guards bursting through the doorway -obviously alerted by the spike of chakra- a glance before plunging the volatile ball into his heart.

He had somehow hoped with the end of his life, the pitiful farce he had been force to live would ultimately stopped. Death was always something he thought of as peaceful, a complete change to the chaotic world of living, a constant of nothingness but he was wrong. The red hot pulse of pure torment was suddenly eclipsed by a burst of white before everything disappeared.

Then the Last Uchiha peeled back his heavy eyelids; his eyes assaulted by the bright light, his entire body felt like it was on fire. So this was it. Hell.

"What the hell were you thinking, Uchiha? When you get out of this, I'm gonna kill you all over again!"

Sasuke could hear the enraged scream as clearly as it was shouted right in his ears, even as he was drifting in and out of consciousness. His last thought was that Hell was really a peculiar place.

He had opened his eyes close to a week later to find a scowling Tsunade by his bedside, much to his adverse disappointment. His entire chest was encased in bandages while his arms and legs were restricted with chakra draining seals. So he didn't die, he was just in a different kind of hell.

He was placed under constant surveillance after that.

The Uchiha flopped on his back, one knee raised with both hands under his head as he blinked up at the ceiling. A few seconds later, the door clanged opened and his guard walked through the doorway.

"Uchiha, we're taking you to the Hokage-sama now."

Sasuke turned his head towards the voice and grunted his agreement. He took a couple more minutes of staring at the wall before he unfurled his limbs and stood.

* * *

The news of the sudden arrival of the new members of the Uchiha clan spread faster than the Hiraishin, sweeping through the village with furious haste. Most of it was thanks to Ino who had been proactively and exasperatingly hardworking in spreading the news. But who could've blamed her? The days of post-war for a shinobi consists mainly of rebuilding and repair works around the village. This little information was definitely more interesting anyway.

By the time Kakashi was ushering the boys into his apartment, new clothes bundled under their arms, half of the village was already buzzing in amazement. The next hour they took to clean themselves and eat, the other half had been included into the loop, thanks to the gossipy nature of ninjas.

After they finished their pre-packed lunch, Kakashi pointed to the empty room and suggested they rest for a bit. Hajime took Shin's hand and pulled his brother inside. "By the way, Hatake-san. Is it okay if we go out for a bit later? I'm sure I can find our way around."

Kakashi blinked at the eager look on the younger boy's face, he was practically vibrating with the idea of going out.

"Can we? Can we?"

"We'll be fine on our own, I'm sure you're needed somewhere else."

"Maa… maa… are you already trying to get rid of me already?" Kakashi's visible brow rose with the question.

The younger boy's eyes were wide in his face. "Noooo… nii-chan, tell him we're not!" Shin tugged at his brother's sleeve in agitation.

"I think Hatake-san is just teasing, Shin. My apologies, Hatake-san. I didn't mean anything by it, it's just that being cooped up was not Shin's strong suit."

"You didn't like it too," the boy pouted.

Kakashi didn't say anything when the older boy playfully mussed up the boy's hair and how the young boy glared and pushed the brother off.

"Haji-_nii_." The boy whined as he jumped out of the older boy's reach.

He has good reflex, Kakashi mused, for a 5 year old. "I need to step out for awhile. Why don't you boys go in, rest for a bit and when I get back, I'll see what I can do."

"That sounds good, Hatake-san. Thank you." Hajime gave a quick bow and Shin blinked at his brother before belatedly following in his example.

"Hurry back and don't be late!" The boy chirped.

Kakashi watched the two boys disappeared into his spare bedroom. He stood in place for a few minutes, unapologetically listening in to the boys' chatter.

"Don't make me take a nap, nii-chan! You're not kaa-chan, you can't make me. I dun wanna!"

His brother's reply escaped Kakashi but he could practically see the mile long pout on the young boy's face.

"I'm not a baby like Sora, I don't need _naps_!"

Kakashi frowned and inched forward.

"You will? You promised, right? Right, nii-chan? Right? Today… you'll let me train with you, today?"

And then he finally caught the older boy's reply. "Yeah, now go lay down for a bit. I don't want you wilting like a weed when we're training later."

"Yaa_aaay_!"

A smile flickered at the corner of Kakashi's lips at the pure excitement in that one prolonged syllable.

"Will you teach me a Katon jutsu? I saw you teaching Ryuta-nii and Ryuu-nii. Can you… please… please!"

"Why don't we start with something easier first?"

Kakashi's visible eye crinkled at the disappointment colouring the boy's reply. With a quick seal he puffed out of his house.

* * *

"So," Kakashi pushed the window to the Hokage's office apart and nimbly jumped inside. "Why do you put the Uchiha kids with me, Hokage-sama?" After all, what do I know of children was left unsaid.

Tsunade ignored the jounin and started ransacking her messy drawer. She could have sworn Shizune had slipped in a couple of bottles of water in. Her assistant was sneaky in her ways to prolong her sobriety especially if there were Council meetings scheduled that day. But for the first time in a really long time she purposely tried to stay sober herself. She needed her head to be clear to handle today's events.

From the back of her mind, she wondered on the ANBU-less state of her office. Didn't they noticed that she wasn't alone anymore? She tossed a couple of scrolls, pushing around items in her crowded drawer for that elusive bottle.

"I haven't even had time for breakfast yet, Hatake. Why are you bothering me again?"

"You did ask me to come later, Hokage-sama. This is later. The Uchiha boys, why me?"

"Why not?" One of Tsunade's brow rose as she looked up into Kakashi's waiting gaze but the Copy-nin's lazy stance didn't waver. "Fine. I can't just send the boys off to just anyone. When this gets out, it's possible they'll be targeted. People are associating the Uchiha name with mass murders these days. For precaution I need someone I can count on to be around the boys."

"So I take it you believe their claim?"

Tsunade sets down a bottle and started rummaging for a cup. "What do you know about Time Seals?"

Kakashi didn't even react at the abrupt change of topic. "Time Seal? The Fourth did dabble a bit but he never got far. In his words, it was a prickly volatile subject with subtle nuances that had to be enforced by constantly changing sub characters. Why do you ask?"

"The older boy said his father created a Seal to send them here."

"A teleportation jutsu? What's that have to do with the Time Seal?"

"Their father sent them here from the future."

_Future? _"Sasuke is their father?"

"That's what they said," Tsunade took a sip and shuddered at the taste of plain water. "Of course I didn't tell the boys I find it almost miraculous that the Uchiha ever got over his suicidal and psychotic tendencies to ever settle down and have two kids."

"Six actually," Kakashi murmured as he sat in the chair in front of the Hokage.

"As in children?" Tsunade's brow followed Kakashi's suit. "I wonder which girl he sweet-talk into that?"

Kakashi tried to hide his smirk behind poorly devised cough, "Sweet-talk? Sasuke? It was more possible that he glared her into submission."

"Hmph.. that's true." They were both silent for a couple of minutes before Tsunade sighed. "I could use Jiraiya's help right about now. He may know more about Time Seals."

Kakashi didn't even bother to voice his agreement. "But Sasuke created a Time Seal? I didn't know he had any interest in Fuuinjutsu, let alone successfully completed a Time Seal of all things."

Tsunade's look told him that she already thought about that. "He must've picked it up sometime in the future."

"It's near impossible to turn yourself into a Seal Master within 10 years, especially in Sasuke's current state of mind," Kakashi pointed out something that was bothering him.

But the Hokage just nodded and turned to stare at the scene out of her window. "The way the older one talked about his father doesn't really remind me of _this_ Sasuke though."

"Maybe he changed for the better. People do _do _that, Hokage-sama."

The Fifth blew an annoyed sigh. "Maybe. I guess we'll see. What else have you picked up on the two boys?"

"The older one, Hajime-kun is very quiet but for someone who's been through all that, he's surprisingly collected. But I can tell he's got something planned."

"You think their father did really send them here for something?"

"Maybe… maybe not," Kakashi shrugged, "But the boy isn't talking so who can really say?"

"Where are they right now?"

"I left them at my place. Hajime-kun tried to get Shin-chan to get a nap. He resourcefully had resorted to bribery."

"Hmph… bring them over here in a couple of hours."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Kakashi jumped onto the window sill and disappeared from view.

"I have a door, you know!" Tsunade yelled at the empty space of her window. She waved Shizune off when her assistant popped her head in to check after she heard the Hokage's raised voice.

The dark haired assistant nodded. "Gomen Tsunade-sama, for the intrusion."

Tsunade leaned back against her chair and closed her eyes, successfully ignoring the pile of paperwork on her table. "Let me know when the Uchiha is here."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama."

* * *

It felt like mere seconds from the time she closed her eyes to the time Shizune knocked on her door again. She opened her eyes reluctantly and faced her waiting assistant.

"Uchiha Sasuke is here, Tsunade-sama."

"That's fine, bring him in." She turned to the window, the tips of her fingers drumming a muted tempo on her desk. Tsunade noticed that the sun was hanging low on the horizon, it must have at least two hours since Kakashi left her. She tore her gaze away when the door closed behind Shizune.

The Gondaime fixed the man in front of her with unflinching amber gaze and he gave her his dark unblinking stare. It continued on for a few more minutes, silence engulfing the Hokage's office like a heavy, uncomfortable cloud.

"Uchiha, sit." Tsunade finally broke the silence, nodding at the chair in front of her. "How do you feel?"

"You pull me out of prison just for that?" His face was still devoid of any emotion as he pulled the chair and sat.

Tsunade waited a couple of seconds before she linked her fingers and rested her chin on top of them, eyes never waving from the pale man. "You used Chidori on yourself. That's a fair question. So, what now, Uchiha?"

Sasuke's brow rose at the question but he didn't answer.

"Itachi is dead. I need to know your future motivation."

"Afraid I'll just lose it one day and kills everyone in sight before killing myself?"

Tsunade ignored his remark and continued on. "What's the plan now?"

"What's the point of having any plan when you're only going to toss me back to prison?" The Uchiha asked drily. "Or when I finally succeeded in ending my life? I'll just take the day as it come for now."

"Fine," The Hokage sighed, fingers started massaging on her throbbing temple. It wasn't even technically noon yet but it seems like the day had dragged on forever. "The other villages had been screaming for your blood, as well as other parts of your body but since you didn't actually went on a rampage and killed too many of their people, I can just turn a deaf ear, so thanks for that at least."

Sasuke just grunted sarcastically, "You're welcome."

"The Council demands jail time before we re-evaluate the situation," She stopped and just continued to stare at him.

"But?"

Tsunade sighed, "I've been told I may be making a mistake if I go with that. One option is that, you'll be confined to your house until I've procured a guard of some sort to escort you around the village."

"So, that's it? The Council will scream how it's only a slap on the wrist."

"Let me handle the Council. You are and still a valuable member of Konoha but mark my word, Uchiha, you will still pay for your crimes," her eyes narrowed into suspicious slits.

"You just want to keep the Sharingan in Konoha. That's what my value is to you, isn't it?" He didn't even bother to hide his disgust.

Tsunade just shrugged and leaned back in her chair, "On that note, I've come across an interesting fact today. There was a family that survived the massacre that night, I've been told they were not in the village at the time. During the confusion, they were noted down as missing before for some reason it was changed to be deceased."

"What did you say?" There was a slight flare of shock in his dark eyes but that was it.

"The parents settled somewhere else but the village they were staying was attacked a few days ago. The sons made their way here as per their father's instruction."

"No," Sasuke shook his head, the movement sharp and stiff. "That's not possible."

"My words exactly," Tsunade huffed a pent-up breath and took a quick sip. "I'll continue with the investigations nevertheless but for the time being, you're no longer the Last Uchiha, Sasuke."

Sasuke's mind whirled frantically as he explored the possibilities of this new fact. "Sons?"

"Two boys. Twelve and five. Brothers."

'Brothers,' Sasuke thought. "What happened to them?"

"There were some injuries; broken ribs, nasty slashes… the older one mostly," the Gondaime shrugged as she emptied the cup. She took her time refilling the cup to the brim before she continued, studying the Uchiha from the corner of her eyes. "I healed them and sent Kakashi to feed and shelter them for the time being."

"You let Kakashi take care of two boys?" His tone was less scathing than he would have wanted. He blamed that on his shock.

"He took care of you guys, they should be fine."

"If you think leaving us to our devices most of the time as taking care," Sasuke muttered but for some reason his tone was without malice. He blamed that on the shock as well.

"You all turned out well," Tsunade just brushed it aside but she scowled at the one in front of her. "Most of you did, anyway."

"How can you be so sure they're Uchihas?" Sasuke ignored the barb and turned the question back to the issue at hand.

"Oh, I'm sure. I'll be ordering a blood work later just for paperwork's sake but I'm sure."

"So, what's next?"

"I'm still deliberating." The glower on his face darkened but she was getting good at ignoring it by now. "So go back, sit tight and I'll let you know what I decide."

"Try to deliberate when you're not drunk out of your mind," the Uchiha's eyes narrowed to a disgruntled slit.

Before she could toss him out on his sorry ass, the door banged opened and the white-haired nin appeared in the doorway.

"We're here! Gomen… gomen… I'm not too late, am I?" Kakashi was looking abashed as he pushed the two boys in. "Shin had just fallen asleep so I have to wait…"

"That's why I didn't want the nap, Haji-nii," the boy mumbled, his smooth brow crinkled in sheer embarrassment. Hatake-san just _had _to tell everyone about it too.

At the sound of his voice, the room's two other occupant turned towards him. "At least you used a door this time." Tsunade huffed.

Beside her, Sasuke stiffened when he caught sight of the boys in front of his former Sensei. His black eyes widened at the pair of dark haired boys. Hajime and Shin stopped dead in their tracks when they realized who was with the Hokage. Instantly their faces lit up. Shin's eyes were shining as he took one excited step towards the stricken Avenger but his brother clamped one hand on the boy's shoulder, pulling him back to his side.

"Haji-nii," Shin whimpered but Hajime didn't say a word. He kept his hand firmly on Shin's shoulder and turned towards the waiting Hokage.

"Hokage-sama. You requested our presence?"

"Who are you?" Sasuke snapped out, his jaw taut.

"Tou-..." Again, Hajime increased the pressure of his hold on his brother's shoulder, making the boy trailed off in silence.

"You must be Uchiha-san. Nice to meet you." He gave the former Last Uchiha a bow and beside him his brother copied his lead belatedly, somewhat bewildered.

"Who are you, kid?" Sasuke grounded out the question in one biting tone.

"Now, Uchiha. Stop trying to bite their head off," Tsunade drawled, waving her hand at the ANBU by the Uchiha's side. Immediately, the masked man shimmered out view. "These are the two boys I was talking about. Their parents survived that night."

"You expect me to believe that? I knew every single Uchiha in this village and…"

"They have been living outside of this village for over ten years, Uchiha. Of course you did not know them."

"Who are your parents?" Sasuke turned his blazing eyes to the boys and the intensity of his scowl plastered Shin even closer to his brother's side. His small fingers fisted around the hem of Hajime's shirt while his other arm circled his brother's leg as he stared upwards at Sasuke. His dark eyes were wide and unblinking.

"Their new village was attacked and they were the only survivors. Their father sent them here, he believed we'd be able to help his sons."

"That didn't answer my question. Who are your parents?"

"Why the questions, Sasuke-kun? I thought you'd be ecstatic to find your clan has been revived. And also a couple of long lost relatives," Kakashi interrupted lazily from behind the boys.

"Ecstatic, Kakashi? You expect Sasuke to be ecstatic? Have other emotion other than brooding?"

"Well then," Kakashi mused, "Maybe mildly interested?"

"Uchiha, stop being so neurotic and suspicious," Tsunade ignored Kakashi and glared at Sasuke when she could see the Uchiha was slowly unraveling at the seams. "Everyone sit down and stop scowling, Uchiha. You're scaring the boy."

"Hn." But he didn't move from his position.

"Okay, you know what. This is not gonna work out," Tsunade glowered at the man in front of her. "Kakashi, take the boys back. And you," her amber eyes narrowed. "I'll deal with you later. You are so going to regret this."

"Well then, boys. That's our cue, let's go then. See you later, Sasuke," Kakashi started herding the boys out of the Hokage's office.

Tsunade didn't wait for the door to close before she turned on the former Avenger, "What is your problem, Uchiha?"

But Sasuke's attention wasn't on her. The dark eyes were fixed on the two boys.

The two Uchiha boys.

Dark hair, dark eyes, pale skin. Hell, the boys even look like him. His thoughts were derailed when the younger boy pulled on his brother's arm. Sasuke could see how the taller boy responded to the young boy's distress with a quick ruffle of the hair. His heart clenched at the memory of him and his brother, a lifetime ago.

"Haji-nii, why is tou-chan so angry at us?"

The words were whispered and the boys were hurriedly ushered away but Sasuke had heard every single word from that bewildered murmur. He stiffened at the implication. Father? Who was the boy referring to? There was no way it could've been him, could it?

"If this is how you'll react to the Konoha residents, I don't know if I want to let you off. I have half the mind to toss you back in that cell and throw away the…"

"I'm sorry," Sasuke grounded out. He had to get to the bottom of this and the only way was to be out of jail. "I was surprised."

"Hmph," the Gondaime glared at him distrustfully. "That's your excuse? That you're surprise?"

"Yes, I was. If you want me to apologize to the boys, get them back here. I'll do it." His tone was flat but there was a tenseness to his profile. His chakra restraining seals pricked agonizingly as he fought the need to blast his way out of the office and possibly started an interrogation on the two boys.

Tsunade didn't bother with a reply but turned to address the ANBU who had just shimmered into view. "Get him back to his cell."

* * *

_To be continued.._


	4. The Tour

**Parallel Ripples**

_Chapter 3  
_

* * *

The trio walked slowly into the bustling crowd. Kakashi studied the dejected boys from the corner of his visible eye. Shin was trudging along, one hand firmly clutching the hem of his brother's shirt and he was pulled forward by the momentum of his brother's brisk pace.

"So, where shall we go Hatake-san?"

"Aa… good question. Have you seen our training grounds?"

"Training grounds?" Shin's head snapped upwards and his eyes started to lose some of its terrified sheen. "Are we gonna train? Can we, Hatake-san?"

"Well, let's go then."

"Yaay," Shin beamed excitedly, his earlier encounter with the grim Uchiha forgotten for the time being.

Kakashi was amazed at the ease children bounded through their emotions. There was no sign any distressing encounter except for a faint trail of drying tears on chubby cheeks. The boy was grinning at the idea of training. As they made their way through the bustling crowd, Shin's excitement dimmed a little at the blatant stares of the villagers.

"Haji-nii, why is everyone looking at us funny?" His fingers tightened itself around his brother's shirt as if one of the villagers was about to rip him from his sibling and ran him all the way to Kumo.

Hajime frowned and turned to Kakashi. "I was wondering about that too. Do you know why?"

"Well," Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck. "I think that was because they haven't seen any other Uchiha for the last ten years that was not Uchiha Sasuke."

"There's no other Uchiha around? What happened to the clan?" There was a slight shrillness to the question that the boy quickly buried under a nonchalant shrug.

It was Kakashi's turn to frown. "There was an attack at the Uchiha Compound ten years ago that killed off everyone. Uchiha Sasuke was the sole survivor."

Hajime paled and his black eyes stood out in his white face. Beside him, Shin frowned as he struggled to follow the conversation. Hajime felt like he's been tossed to an alternate universe fueled by a genjutsu. All the Uchihas were killed except for his father? That explains why his father felt and acted like a completely different person. A shiver clawed painfully over his spine as he wondered the possibility of them being in this timeline had completely change history. But then, that doesn't really make sense. Shouldn't their arrival only affect the coming events and not this timeline's past? So what does this _mean?_

"Everyone? But how did that happen? So what you're saying is there is no other Uchiha except for Uchiha Sasuke?"

"And now you two." Kakashi purposely ignored the first part of the boy's question. To answer that would be opening a can of worms he was not prepared to deal with yet.

Kakashi's evasive answer went unnoticed, Hajime kept his brisk pace as his mind was racing even faster. He was sent from the future of an obliterated village to a thriving village without his own clan. He didn't know which one was worse.

"Why are you so surprised, Haji-kun? Your parents never talked about why they didn't want to return to Konoha?" Kakashi tried to pry some sort of info from the silent teen. He still found it perplexing that these kids from the future found the past, _their_ supposed past, surprising. Shouldn't they know their own history? In addition to that, he didn't fail to notice how the boys react to Sasuke.

They had both stared, wide-eyed and stricken, especially the younger one at the one who will be their father like he was a complete stranger. Something just didn't add up.

Kakashi snuck a glance at the silent boys beside him. Shin was glued to Hajime's side like an overgrown barnacle, fingers fused around his brother's shirt it had started to look like it was always been part of the fabric. Hajime's face was blank but Kakashi could see the furious thoughts that tumble over each other behind his black eyes.

"Kakashi sensei!"

Kakashi turned his head around at that jubilant yell and his mood instantly shifted from curious inquisition to a hazy sort of tranquility. His student's joyous exuberance always calmed him down, funnily enough. "Naruto, what are you up to?"

"Yo, sensei!" The blond screeched to a stop in front of his former sensei. "I was just gonna go meet Tsunade-baachan. She made me fill out that darn paperwork over and over again, 'ttebayo!"

"You still didn't get the hang of it?"

"That's not my fault they're confu…" His face crumpled into a frown when he noticed the boys. "Who is this, Sensei?"

"Aa… I'm sure Hokage-sama will fill you out later. The newest addition to Konoha, Hajime and his brother Shin."

"Hey kids! What's up? I'm Uzumaki Naruto." The blond grinned. "You both sure look familiar. Do you have family here?"

"You can say they're related to Sasuke." Kakashi noted the tightening around Hajime's jawline before he waved aside Naruto's sputtering. "They're also from the Uchiha clan."

"Ehh? But I thought there was no other…"

"Looks like we're mistaken," the Sensei shrugged lightly.

Naruto dropped down to his haunches and stared intently into Shin's face before turning to Hajime. The blond head cocked to one side, "You two look really _really _familiar, dattebayo!"

"We're brothers, that's why we look alike!" Shin beamed at the frowning blond but Naruto shook his head.

"No, that's not it. How are you related to Sasuke-teme?"

"Teme?" Shin's head tilted in confusion and turned to his brother. "Haji-nii, what's that?"

"Ehh? I mean… uh, you didn't know? Forget it, forget it! It's just a… um…" Naruto jumped up and rubbed the back of his head guiltily. "Heh heh… Oh, Sensei!" The Uzumaki turned to his teacher desperately. "You never told me how they're related to that te… ah… Sasuke- uh… -kun?"

"Well… why don't you ask Hokage-sama? She can fill you better than I can."

"You're just too lazy to talk, Sensei!" The Jinchuriki scowled.

"You look very strong, Uzumaki-san!" Shin interrupted in a bright tone as he looked up into Naruto's face. "You must know a lot of cool jutsus. Hatake-san, Haji-nii and I, we're gonna go see the training ground. Maybe you can show me something?"

Naruto's face turned a flushing shade of crimson at the worshipping look on the boy's face but he brightened up almost immediately. "Heh.. heh.. I don't see why not?"

"Naruto, I thought the Hokage is waiting for you?"

"Eh… well, she's just gonna nag about paperwork, it can wait a couple of minutes. I'm sure she'll have other important things to worry about anyway. Come on, kids! Race you to the training grounds!"

He dashed off with Shin scampering on his heels. Hajime stood there, staring at the empty spot before Kakashi called out. "Go on, Hajime-kun. Maybe we can catch up, ne?"

The boy just nodded before bounding off in the direction the orange-clad nin and his brother had taken, Kakashi taking up the rear. When they got to the ground, Naruto was grinning with Shin running around him in circles. "That was a_we_some, Uzumaki-san!"

"Heh heh… You don't have to be so proper with me, Shin-chan. Uzumaki-san makes me feel so old. But you're pretty fast yourself."

"When kaa-chan gets angry, it's scary," Shin confided, wide-eyed. "If you don't want her to catch you, you have to run very _very _fast!"

"That's what happens if you hang around Ryuta and Ryuu," Hajime added after seeing the older teen's perplexed face.

"But Ryuta-nii and Ryuu-nii always has amazing ideas!"

"Too bad it never works out," his brother said drily.

"It's true," Shin pouted, "Then kaa-chan will get _very _angry and even tou-chan can't do anything. He'll just laugh and said run. That makes kaa-chan even angrier."

"Your kaa-chan sounds a lil scary," Naruto remarked and Shin's eyes glinted in an agreeable sort of way.

"Only when Ryuta-nii and Ryuu-nii gets on her nerve." The youngest Uchiha pursed his lips as he started to see the correlation of his mother's meltdown to his older brothers' antics.

"Most of the time it's a daily recurrent though." His other older brother sighed in a long suffering kind of way.

"But Ryuta-nii and Ryuu-nii always said running away from kaa-chan is a good practice to increase speed so it's a win-win situation." Shin parroted what he had heard hundreds of time in his life. "But kaa-chan always catches us and then she made us run around the compound until our legs feel like falling off."

"If you're too tired to move, you're too tired to mess up."

Shin nodded petulantly. "Kaa-chan always says that, every time."

"And your father? What did he do?" Kakashi lowered his book a couple of inches and peered at the boy.

"Tou-chan?" Shin blinked at the sudden change of topic before he grinned. "Sometime he shows us really cool places to hide until kaa-chan calms down."

Kakashi turned his attention back to his book but behind the safety of the pages, he was busy analyzing this new tidbit of information. He let the sound of the young boy's chatter filled the air as he continued to study this addicting new puzzle.

* * *

_.._

_To be continued.._

_.._


	5. The Gossip Continues

**Parallel Ripples**

_Chapter 4  
_

* * *

His teammates already left twenty minutes ago. One was talking about a visit to the blacksmith to check on her custom-ordered weapons and the other shouted over his shoulder about his daily 500 laps around the village before dashing off. He gave his leaving teammates a quick nod before he turned back to his training. He swiped the sweat that ran down his face absent-mindedly before he straightened and turned towards the area where she was.

"Are you just going to stay there?"

She knew he could not have seen her; if she wanted to remain unseen, she could've been anywhere she wanted and no one would have noticed. Her friend may have inherited Gondaime-sama's chakra-fueled strength but she had worked on her mind jutsu tirelessly. The result was that she was able to change people's perspective about her presence. The key was to tweak that person's subconscious thoughts to disregard her existence. In a way, with a nudge of her mind, she could turn invisible anytime, anywhere.

However, whatever she did, it seems he was able to seek her out. Must be that damn Byakugan.

Ino stood, stretched out her limbs and jumped from her perch, walking slowly to the waiting man. "How's the training today?"

He shrugged, as interested in the conversation as any Hyuuga could ever be. "It was… rewarding enough. I did get to work on the new jutsu." His colourless eyes narrowed at her dawdling form. "You're late, again."

"I was a little detained." Her grin didn't waver even when he turned back to his training post. She jumped onto the next post and she sat, watching him continue with his training. "You wouldn't believe what I saw today." Her feet swung slowly before she raised one up, her heel on the edge of the post, her chin perched on her raised knee. His momentum didn't falter and she continued talking. "I saw Kakashi-sensei at one of the shops and you will _not _believe who was with him."

"Who? Anko-san?"

"Ehh! You mean the rumour is true?" She instantly straightened, her eyes wide. "Why didn't I know of that first? How did you find out?"

His expressionless face thawed to a slight smile. "That's just a guess, Ino."

Her stiff form immediately sagged. "I've been having these weird vibes from those two," she muttered before she shook her head. "Anyway, you wouldn't believe who I saw with Kakashi-sensei at the shop."

There was no response from him but she was used to that and she continued talking as if he was hanging by her every word. "He was with these two boys, picking up clothes."

"Kakashi with two boys buying clothes," he trained those colourless eyes on her, "And that's hard to believe because?"

"I said there's two boys, right? The older one must be what… around 10 or 11… but you will not believe how much he looks like Sasuke."

"The Uchiha?" His smooth brow furrowed into a frown.

"Yeah but Kakashi-sensei just said it was a coincidence or something. But seriously, wait until you see that boy."

"Maybe he's a relative. You know how clan members tend to resemble each other."

"You forgot about what happened ten years ago? He didn't _have _any other relative."

Neji shrugged and turned back to his training post. "You know anything is possible."

"You're no fun," she scowled. "I have no idea why I even want to hang out with you."

"My thoughts exactly," he muttered as he continued punching the life out of the training post.

During the war, he had been placed in her team, together with Shikamaru and Chouji because his Byakugan was needed to successfully completed the mission at the time. It had gone well enough, their recon mission when suddenly their 4-men cell was abruptly ambushed.

Neji had quickly noticed that the blonde kunoichi was efficiently herded to one corner. He had taken out the enemies surrounding her with his usual swiftness, barely giving the girl a glance before jumping back into the fight. They quickly subdued the enemies after that. On their way back, a little worse for wear, suddenly the Yamanaka turned on him, glaring and scowling as if she was facing Uchiha Madara himself.

"What the hell did you think you just did? I was just doing fine before you just _had _to sweep in."

Neji stopped walking and stared at the fuming girl in front of him. He snuck a glance at the other two guys beside him but they just shrugged.

Chouji coughed and behind the safety of his hand he whispered, "Just let her rant, let her get it out of her system." He quickly pulled his gaze away from her red face, coughed and wandered off, Shikamaru following in his wake.

Neji studied her face, noticed the flush that crept up to her hairline. "You looked like you needed help, so I did."

"I looked like I need help?" She screeched and Neji's brow disappeared under his hitai-ate.

"Yes."

"Listen, Hyuuga. I had the situation under control and I do _not _appreciate you barging in there!"

From behind her shoulder he spotted Chouji's shaking head as he mouthed, "Let… her… rant… Don't… say… anything… Just… nod!"

Neji quickly weighed all of his options and he rapidly come to the conclusion that swallowing his pride this one time was healthier for him in the long run. He let her screamed at him for another five minutes and when she paused to draw in much needed breath, he interrupted, "My apologies, Yamanaka-san. It seems I overstepped my boundaries." He gave her a quick bow and when he straightened, she was staring at him in shock, her mouth opened so he gave her another nod and left.

Chouji slapped him on his shoulder, beaming widely and even Shikamaru mustered a grin. They reported back their findings and he had thought that was the last time he had to face the temperamental kunoichi. But the next day, he sensed the tentative spike of her chakra and he turned to the source, frowning a bit. For someone who had the temper of an enraged bull, her chakra signature was surprisingly calm and tranquil.

Ino walked up to him and start talking about the story she had heard somewhere. He was taken by surprise at her unexpected entrance to offer any response to her chatter. After she ran out of things to say, both of them stared at each other in silence before her face started to flush.

Neji frowned at the Hinata-sama like reaction (he was half tempted to check if Naruto was in the vicinity) when she flipped her bangs aside and mumbled, "Sorry for yesterday."

Neji blinked at the sudden turn of event but she was already gone. He had thought that was the end of it but she kept coming back, day after day. She would filled him in on the latest gossip, turned her nose at the messy rat nest of his hair (her words) and walked off. He was shoved out of his train of thoughts when she suddenly spoke.

"I hope the boys would help Sasuke a little."

Neji tried to reroute his brain back to what their current conversation was. "Family members has the ability to ground you down."

"That's what I was thinking too." Ino jumped down from her post and blinked at the lowering sun. "Careful, Hyuuga. I think you should head back too. A bird might mistake that hair of yours for its nest."

Their little ritual done, she disappeared from his view. Neji quickly ran one hand through his hair, just to make sure it was the way it was supposed to, before he turned back to his training.

* * *

**..  
**

_To be continued..  
_

_.._

* * *

**_A/N: _**_I'm so sorry for the long gap, RL has been somewhat eventful. Anyways, what do you guys think?  
_


	6. The Spar

**Parallel Ripples**

_Chapter 5_

* * *

The late afternoon heat felt familiar on his skin. If he were to close his eyes, he could just pretend he was in his backyard with the chatter of his siblings around him as they went through their training under their mother's watchful eyes. He gritted his teeth, fingers fisted by his side when he remembered he was not at home and his family was as good as dead. The dark thoughts were instantly derailed when his youngest brother's excited voice piped up.

"So, what can you show me, Naruto-san?"

Naruto had a contemplative look on his face as he studied the bouncing boy. "Why don't _you_ show me what you can do, Shin-chan."

"Me?"

"Yeah," the blond grinned, "Wanna spar?"

Shin's face brightened up, his eyes were saucers in his flushed face. "Yeah… yeah… yeah!"

Hajime's eyes traveled up and down the teen, rapidly assessing to see whether his brother would be in good hand. He can't say he was comfortable letting his little brother fight this Uzumaki Naruto, -even if it was all fun and game- e_specially_ if he was related to the Uzumaki Menma that Hajime remembered back home.

As if understanding his train of thoughts, Kakashi put one hand on his head, the Jounin's fingers sinking into his messy hair. For whatever reasons, the weight felt nice. "Don't worry, Hajime-kun. Naruto will take good care of your brother."

"I know," the boy nodded stiffly but not entirely satisfied.

"Naruto is very good with kids, they all seem to like him."

Hajime's black eyes narrowed when his brother sank into the starting stance. He noticed that the young boy's form was steady, he had finally overcome his bad habit of disregarding the importance of posture. Shin's face was scrunched in concentration and when the blond in front of him moved, he launched himself into action.

The older boy could see that Naruto had purposely slowed down his speed tenfold but even then he was still fairly fast for the young Uchiha. Shin leapt up, his body twisting in midair, his leg directly aimed at Naruto's chest. He frowned at his brother's line of thought. His opponent outweighed him almost three times over for him to successfully pull that off.

Naruto must've thought the same because his grin widened and he put out an arm out to block the kick. Shin's feet connected with Naruto's arm and instead of being tossed away, the boy used a shot of chakra to attach his foot against Naruto's moving arm. The youngest Uchiha used the blond's momentum to gain speed as he twisted, caught hold of Naruto's shoulder with chakra-fused hand and tossed himself over the teen's head.

Naruto clearly didn't anticipate such young boy to be able to successfully mold chakra as well as Shin did because he took an extra second to blink at the empty space in front of him. His lips quirked upwards before turning around to find the boy already charging in, the grin on his face widened as he launched himself at the boy when suddenly Shin changed course and ducked, sliding underneath his legs.

The young boy quickly flipped to change direction, jumped upwards before his chakra covered hand gripped Naruto's knee as he twisted and used Naruto's arm to propelled himself away. Hajime's eyes narrowed when he noticed that his brother was not just using the blond teen for handholds. His sharp eyes detected the flutter of exploding tags that his brother had managed to stick on Naruto's limbs. His hand quickly went through his vest to find a couple of tags missing. When did Shin managed to get his hand on them in the first place?

_'Not bad, otouto,'_ Hajime's thought flashed through his mind with a sharp burst of pride. You knew there was no way you'd be able to win against him by strength and speed alone so you opt for another direction.

"Your brother is pretty smart, Hajime-kun," Kakashi murmured from beside him. "Successfully utilizing a strategy for someone so young."

Hajime couldn't even muster a reply when suddenly the breath in his lungs was constricted when Shin landed after attaching his last tag on the back of Naruto's shoulder. The second his feet touched the ground, Shin's stance lowered, his arms and legs started to position themselves in their mother's distinctive stance. Hajime could feel the sweat that slid down his spine at the questions that will undoubtedly arise after this.

However, at that moment the multiple tags exploded and Hajime fervently prayed that everyone's eyes were on the explosion instead of the young Uchiha. Before the smoke even cleared completely, a loud burst of laughter came from a tree somewhere on their right.

"Good work, Shin-chan! That was one cool strategy!" Naruto yelled out as he crouched on a branch of a nearby tree. The smoke cleared away to show a smoking piece of log where Naruto was standing earlier.

"Aw… you used kawarimi. That means you won, huh?" Shin straightened up –Hajime blew a relieved sigh- but instead of looking forlorn at his loss, the boy was grinning from ear to ear. "That was _awe_some, Naruto-san! Did you see that, Haji-nii? Did you see what I did? Isn't that totally cool?"

Hajime smiled and walked to his bouncing brother. "Yeah, you did good, Shin-chan." He mussed the boy's sweaty locks, an affectionate glint in his dark eyes. The young Uchiha was too excited to even be bothered by his brother's action.

"You manipulated your chakra very well, Shin-chan," Kakashi remarked, his eye curved upwards and the boy beamed.

"When I first learned to use chakra, it was very _very_ hard to do, Hatake-san. But Ryuuta-nii always laughed when I can't climb a tree as well as he can so I practiced molding chakra every single day! Now it's easy to keep up with them."

"Keep it up, Shin-chan," Naruto grinned, a wide smile that light up the blue of his eyes. "You're gonna be something in a few years, I have to keep my eyes on you."

Shin was so excited he didn't know what else to do. He rushed to the laughing orange-clad teen and wrapped his arms around Naruto's torso.

Naruto stumbled a couple of steps backwards, startled and surprised by the quick affectionate gesture. He had slowly gotten used to the fact that he was accepted by his village but this sudden hug from a boy he had only met less than an hour ago made his insides basked in a warm glow. He wrapped his own arms around the boy, patting the black hair and the boy's arm tightened around him.

After a quick squeeze, Shin clambered down and faced his opponent properly. His brother smiled when the boy gave Naruto a respectful bow. "Thank you, Naruto-san, for the spar."

"You're just too cute, Shin-chan!" Naruto's hand rubbed the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed by the fuss. His smile however, continued to flash bright and wide. "You can call me nii-chan if you want."

"Naruto… nii-chan?"

"Hai," Naruto's grin was so wide, his eyes crinkled shut.

* * *

::

**I have a couple of reviews guessing on the identity of their mother. So I was thinking that it would be fun to see if anyone could guess correctly. I have sprinkled the hints throughout the story (a few in this chapter as well), so please, tell me who do you think is the mother and why. Guess away! I hope to hear from you soon!**

**Next chapter: Hajime starts to find if there's anyone who could recreate the Time Seal. Kakashi digs deeper. Fun times! **

::


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